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On approaching Lucknow, via Fyzabad, this imposing ediﬁce is the ﬁrst to attract the attention of the traveller, as the Oudh and Rohilkhund Railway train passes over the Gumti Bridge, which was opened for traiffc in 1872.

In the distance appear other buildings, but none can vie, in majestic grandeur, with La Martiniere, which forcibly reminds the traveller that he is entering the renowned “City of Palaces and gardens.”

In front of the building is an artiﬁcial lake of considerable depth, in the centre of which stands a lofty ﬂuted masonry column, said to be not unlike the monument to the Duke of York, 123 feet high.

The wings on either side of the mansion, now used as class-rooms and dormitories, were constructed after the death of the General. They are built in a semi-circular form on either side of the central platform, each Wing consisting of two stories.

The main building, which faces east, stands on an elevated basement forming a platform partly paved with stone in front of the entrance-hall and approached by a broad flight of steps. The superstructure is surmounted with life-size ﬁgures of men and women and the several faces are ﬂanked with circular towers whose crenalated tops are raised between rampant lions. The summit of the grand central tower is fitted with a staff on which is displayed the Union Jack on Sundays and on other special occasions. The interior of the building is elaborately ornamented with arabesque decorations and the ceilings of the halls with bas-reliefs illustrative of classical subjects.

La Martiniere, also known as Constantia, (from the College motto “Labore et constantia”), was built, in the time of King Asuf-ud-daula, by General Claude Martin, who was apparently his own architect. When the building was under construction, the King, seeing the